Page 15 of Savage Blood
No sympathy for the devil.
“Raise him,” Jax ordered, and Ben turned the crank again, lifting Ruin by his bound hands until his bare feet dragged on the floor.
My throat tightened as the scene resembled the one Fane and I had walked in on at Ruin’s house when Princess Venna used him to set a trap for us.
Roman snapped his fingers, and the candles placed along the floor flared to life, their flames dancing across the walls. “Everyone in place. Let’s get started.”
Ice crawled over my nape as the shifters gathered in a circle around Ruin, donning those creepy masks. Barric joined them, and when he pulled the amulet out of his shirt and dropped it against the robe, sharp tingles radiated over my body.
The memory of that menacing power flowing through my veins engulfed me, and I bit my lip to keep from groaning. My muscles tensed, and every stitch of my clothing rubbed my skin raw. Barric’s voice boomed through the grand room, making me flinch, but the words coming out of his mouth beyond the mask weren’t English.
They weren’t even human.
He spoke a demon tongue.
Even though I couldn’t understand him, the Infernal Sol still embedded in me recognized the language. Ominous chanting erupted from the other Collective members, and when Enid met my gaze, trepidation darkened hers.
Could she see the amulet’s effect on me? Did she realize how familiar I was with the power leaking into the atmosphere?
Goose bumps puckered my flesh as a cold sweat beaded my forehead. The candle flames danced higher, flickering in the crimson stone that dangled from Barric’s neck as if it were alive.
Itwasalive.
The sentient stone knew exactly what it was doing.
But I couldn’t say the same for The Collective.
“Collective Nosterium, join hands and call forth the power,” Barric commanded.
Collective Nosterium?
Frost crystallized through my veins. Barric—or the Infernal Sol controlling him—was transforming his racist pack of shifters into this psychotic band of demons. There were plenty of other Collective Hunt members around the world, but his inner circle had become a twisted mashup of the shifter group and the demon coven Ruin once led.
The two dozen shifters tightened the circle and gripped hands while Barric slinked into the middle near Ruin.
“Is this my part now?” The high demon chuckled, but a bitter tone encircled each word. He dramatically cleared his throat. “Nosterium, damine est tu tenebrum.”
Barric raised the same dagger I’d cut my palm with and sliced into Ruin’s already marred torso, spilling blood. “Don’t screw with me, demon. Say it correctly.”
“Pardon me. It’s been so long. I forgot.” Ruin rolled his head and continued in the demon tongue, the blue in his eyes fading to impenetrable black.
Roman moved toward the center of the circle with the bowl of my blood, his violet irises blazing bright as his own magic joined the odd combination of shifter and demon essence. He opened his mouth and shouted an incantation.
“Darkness unchained and power aflame. Bring forth the might and grant them flight. Grasp the shadows, twist them round, wisdom asunder, and senses unbound.”
The witch’s enchantment sent frosty air over my scalp. Darkness unchained? Wisdom asunder?
Barric took the bowl, lifted it, and gulped some of the contents.
My stomach churned at the sight of my own father drinking my blood. It was wrong on so many levels.
He then held the bowl to Ruin’s mouth, but the high demon refused to part his lips.
Barric growled. “Drink it, or I’ll put you in a tiny hole of a cell, far from Tate but not far enough to drown out her cries when I let Wes and Torin torture her.”
Bile shot up my esophagus at his threat, and I nearly hurled on my boots. The son of a bitch hated me enough to let those creeps do whatever they pleased except kill me.
Ruin finally opened his mouth, and Barric forced the rest of my blood down his throat. Chills raked my spine as The Collective chanted while Ruin’s voice rose over them, each word a jagged, slashing note.
